Canaccord Capital Inc. announced last night that Paul Reynolds has been appointed CEO effective August 1. Reynolds replacines Peter Brown who remains as chairman.

After 40 years of successful leadership, Brown says he is pleased with the seamless transition of this role to Reynolds, who has been with the firm for over 22 years.

As chairman, Brown says he looks forward to actively supporting Reynolds, Mark Maybank and Brad Kotush as the firm continues to move forward. He will also represent the interests of both our internal and external shareholders. “We’re proud that our leadership succession has been accomplished entirely from within the organization,” says Brown. “This is a young and dynamic team that shares the goals and values upon which we’ve built Canaccord.”

Canaccord’s revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, ended June 30, was a record $245.9 million, up 19.3% from the same quarter a year ago.

Net income for the first quarter was also a record $39 million, up 50.4% and diluted earnings per share of 80¢ was up 48.1% from the same period a year ago.

Commenting on the quarter, Reynolds, president and CEO says “These record levels of revenue and profitability reflect excellent execution across our geographies, business lines and focus sectors during the first three months of our fiscal year.”

Supported by Canaccord’s results, the board of directors approved a quarterly dividend increase of 2.5¢ per share to 12.5¢ per share.